UVM Sponsored Project Administration
Tool for Principal Investigators
Relating to RPPR and Non-Competing Continuation Grants
for NIH Sponsored Projects
As of 3/23/15
BACKGROUND:
The Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) is the annual progress report required for most NIH grants, including
all SNAP and multi-year funded awards. The RPPR replaces the PHS 2590 for All SNAP and non-SNAP progress reports
due after October 17, 2014. The only exception to this policy are Phase I Final Year (Phase II Type 4 Applications) which
require the PHS 398 or PHS 2590 depending on the terms of the award.
The RPPR is also required for some other Federal grants, including the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality. If you
have questions about whether or not your award requires the submission of an RPPR, please contact your SPA Research
Administrator (see SPA Contacts by Department).
WHERE TO FIND RPPR:
For NIH and AHRQ sponsored projects: To complete the RPPR, the PD/PI will log into the NIH eRA Commons system and
navigate to the RPPR search page by clicking the RPPR link at the top of the toolbar. On this page the PD/PI can search
for upcoming RPPRs by last name or grant number. The PD/PI will input the requested information directly onto the
RPPR form on eRA website. This is in contrast to the PHS 2590 Annual Progress report which was uploaded onto the NIH
website.
Information about the RPPR can be found on the NIH website
Most questions about the RPPR can be answered in the RPPR Instruction Guide
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As the NIH periodically updates the RPPR guide, “Control F” (“Command F” for Macs) should be used to find
specific sections. For example, to check requirements for the Multiple PI leadership Plan, one can press “Control
F” while viewing the PDF to “find” the term “leadership plan” in the document.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR RPPR AND NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION APPLICATIONS:
1. The SPA Research Administrators will prepare a routing packet and InfoEd record. The RA will send the routing
packet to the PD/PI to confirm effort and salary of personnel and other budget items. The RA will then upload a
PDF of the finished routing packet into InfoEd.
2. If the project will include sub-recipients in the upcoming period the PI/PD should ask all subrecipients to update
their sub-recipient commitment form. The subrecipient will need to fill out Section E (Revisions) and include
either a copy of or a link to their most recent A-133 audit. The subrecipient should also confirm any changes to
the amount of the sub award. Here is a link to our most recent form:
http://www.uvm.edu/spa/documents/subrecipientcommitmentform.pdf. Also note we need subrecipient’s
progress report, etc.
3. If Direct Cost Justification forms have been approved in previous periods, the Research Administrator will ask
the PD/PI to review, and update if necessary, any Direct Cost Justification forms for the upcoming budget period.
If new direct costs requiring justification are including in the budget for the first time, the PD/PI should forward
a completed Direct Cost Justification form to the Research Administrator. Here is a link to more information on
UVM’s Cost Policy on Sponsored Agreements: http://www.uvm.edu/spa/?Page=costpolicy.html
4. The PD/PI should complete the RPPR in eRA Commons and electronically “route” the draft RPPR to the RA using
eRA Commons for review. Once reviewed, the PD/PI will upload RPPR a PDF copy into InfoEd .
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5. Once the routing packet and RPPR are complete and uploaded into InfoEd, the PD/PI will use InfoEd to route the
proposal for review. See the InfoEd proposal routing help guide:
https://www.uvm.edu/~infoed/?Page=proposaldevelopmentandrouting.html
6. During the routing process, the RA will review in detail the RPPR and routing packet to ensure all questions have
been answered completely and in accordance with the sponsor’s requirements. Once the InfoEd routing is
complete, the RA will submit the application on eRA Commons, thereby endorsing it on behalf of the University.
RPPR COMMON QUESTIONS CHECKLIST:
Section A - Cover Page:
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Prior approval is necessary to add, delete, or change PD/PIs (see below)
Section B – Accomplishments:
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If there have been significant changes in the project or its direction, then sponsor approval should be obtained
for any significant changes to the goals or scope of the project before listing these changes in the RPPR.
Is there one or more Revision or Supplement associated with this award for which reporting is required? If so,
the PD/PI must identify the Revision/Supplement by grant number and describe the specific aims and
accomplishments for each.
The PD/PI must list the training and professional development activities for the covered period.
All projects using graduate students or postdoctoral fellows must establish Individual Development Plans (IDP)
for each graduate student and postdoc (see University IDP Procedures). The PD/PI should describe how IDPs are
used to help manage the training for graduate students and postdoc fellows. Note, PD/PIs should NOT include
the actual IDPs in the RPPR.
Section C – Products
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All publications for the period covering the grant should be listed even if they are not yet compliant with the NIH
Public Access Policy. The RPPR may be submitted with noncompliant publications, however the NIH will send an
email to the PD/PI requesting s/he provide evidence of compliance or an explanation of non-compliance within
two weeks prior to the next budget start date. See the NIH website concerning Public Access Compliance and
the Dana Medical Library’s Guide on NIH Public Access Policy. Ensuring all publications are in compliance is
critical to prompt receipt of the next year’s funding, and the RA should remind the PI/PD of this requirement
during RPPR preparation and submission.
Section D – Participants:
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Person months of effort are rounded to the nearest whole number unless the effort is less than 1 person month,
in which case the effort should be rounded up to 1 person month.
Your SPA RA can create an eRA Commons ID for any personnel who require one.
A 25% reduction in effort by the PD/PI and any other key person named in the notice of award requires NIH
approval prior to the effort reduction. Selecting YES to effort reduction over 25% in the RPPR by the PD/PI is
considered a prior approval request for the upcoming period. NIH approval of the RPPR is considered approval
of this request. This is the only instance where prior approval can be obtained in this manner. Inclusion of the
request in the RPPR is an expedient way to obtain the prior approval. It is usually advisable to discuss effort
reduction of over 25% with the appropriate program officer, preferably in advance of RPPR submission. (Note,
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this effort reduction is cumulative, therefore if current effort is 25% less than approved in the initial application,
rather than previous year, the PD/PI must get approval).
Changing the PD/PI requires prior approval. Disengagement from the project for more than 3 months requires
prior approval as well.
For multiple PD/PI projects, changes to the Multiple PI (MPI) Leadership Plan do not require prior approval. All
modified MPI Leadership Plans should be uploaded with the RPPR along with a description of the changes,
including contact PD/PI, communication plans, conflict resolution, and scientific responsibilities (See RPPR
Guidelines). Changes to the MPI Leadership Plan must be documented and approved by the relevant
department chairs and deans during the route and prior to the submission of the updated documents to the
sponsor.
Section F – Changes:
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The PD/PI should ensure the plans for human subjects, vertebrate animals, biohazards, and/or select agents are
up to date.
Section G – Special Reporting Requirements:
If the PD/PI anticipates an unobligated balance of over 25% then he or she must provide an estimated unobligated
balance along with an explanation for the same. SPA has developed a simple standardized tool to calculate project
expenses and the unobligated balance. SPA has also drafted some tips for what to include in the explanation. Link to the
SPA webpage: http://www.uvm.edu/spa/?Page=unobligatedbalances.html. For SNAP awards, NIH approval of the RPPR
indicates acknowledgement of this notification. For Non-SNAP awards, carry over should be requested separately from
the RPPR, regardless of what you enter in Section G, and will be approved after the annual financial report has been
submitted by SPA.
Section H – Budget:
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Section H should only be completed for awards not subject to Streamlined Noncompeting Award Procedures
(SNAP). If an award is subject to SNAP this will be declared in Section III – “Terms and Conditions” of the Award
Document saved in InfoEd. For questions about whether an award is subject to SNAP, the PI should contact his
or her SPA Research Administrator.
Section H of the RPPR uses different budget guidelines and format than the PHS-2590 Annual Progress Report.
PD/PIs will now use the format and budget guidelines from the SF424 (R&R) Application. More information on
the SF424 budget guidelines can be found in Section 4.7 of the NIH SF424 R&R Application Guide.
As with the RPPR overall, the PD/PI will input the requested budget information directly on the eRA Commons
website rather than uploading a form.
Common areas for PD/PIs to list “Nothing to Report”
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For section B.5 (“How have results been disseminated to communities of interest?”), the PD/PI need only list
dissemination activities if public communication or outreach was listed as a specific aims of the project.
Scientific publications and sharing of research resources should not be listed in this section.
Section C.2 (“Website(s) or other internet site(s)”) should only be listed if the award was designed to create or
maintain websites.
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SNAP awards DO NOT need to complete Section H – Budget
If you are unsure about what to complete, feel free to contact your RA (see SPA Contacts by Department).
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